BADIN, NC (AP) -- Environmental groups want North Carolina regulators to force a full clean-up of a health-harming contaminant in a waterway near the closed Alcoa Inc. aluminum smelter.

Yadkin Riverkeeper and North Carolina Environmental Justice Network hold a meeting Saturday in the Stanly County town of Badin to draw attention to the PCB contamination.

Alcoa proposes covering a three-acre section of the Badin Lake bottom near the smelter it operated for 90 years to keep PCBs there from moving. The company says the sediments are no risk to humans and capping them prevents disturbance.

Activists want the state environment agency to require clean-up of all PCB contamination so that the fish are safe to eat. Officials have posted signs warning that catfish and large-mouth bass had elevated PCB levels.

(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Disclaimer: Comments posted on this, or any story are opinions of those people posting them, and not the views or opinions
of WWAY NewsChannel 3, its management or employees. You can view our comment policy here.